Jay ... And Phil

Jay is feeling the full judgemental force of the Square upon his thin shoulders at the moment for his alleged part in covering up Heather's murder.

There are several points to be made here, none the least being the reaction of certain people to the news of Jay's involvement.

First, let's look at the Walford residents who've cast aspersions on Jay's character of late:-

• Jack
• Max
• Denise
• Syed and Zainab

These are some of the biggest hypocrites in Walford. Jack's a bent copper, and it was even intimated back in January that he helped Derek dispose of a body. He was also on the payroll of a crime syndicate whilst a serving policement, and this involvement led to the deliberate accident which resulted in his daughter's disability.

Max and his family are also hypocrites. Max scammed Heather out of her savings in an insurance con. His wife has attempted to murder Max and covered up their daughter's attempt to murder him. Max, in fact, is still covering up Tanya's attempt to murder him.

Denise was perfectly willing to see an innocent man, Sean Slater, go to prison for mugging Patrick, when Chelsea and Dean lied about that. In fact, she went so far as to destroy filmed evidence of the real mugger in order to keep Chelsea out of prison.

Syed embezzled from his family's business, resulting in its ruin, and his father took the flack for that. He also stole Roxy's client base and equipment from her salon. Zainab would go to her grave covering up for her golden boy.

But then, let's look at Jay's involvement, itself. Yes, he tried to stop Ben from verbally and physically attacking Heather. Yes, Phil convinced him that he had to keep schtum about Ben's deed. And, yes, Jay suffered emotionally and psychologically from harbouring this secret.

Now let's look at the other side of the coin.

Jay was more than willing to profit from his association with the Mitchells and his perceived adopted "Mitchelldom." How many times have we seen him swagger through Walford, asserting his so-called "influence," asking the ubiquitous question, "Do you know who I am?"

He lifted Phil's keys and entered the Vic after hours with Abi "for drinks," knowing that Alfie and Kat were asleep and their young son was in the house. That could have got nasty. He expected service in the Vic when he was underage, and he was known to speak to people like shit, simply because he had assumed Phil Mitchell's surname.

Not only Billy, but also Shirley advised him that assuming a surname didn't actually make him what he was trying to be - a Mitchell - and that Phil would always come down on the side of a real blood Mitchell. Even Phil put him in his place before Christmas when he reminded Jay that Jay was only a lodger who worked for Phil.

As well, there were times during the cover-up period after Heather's murder that we saw Jay acting normally - laughing, joking and larking about. And closer the time of the reveal, Jay actually told Ben that he went along with the cover-up because he valued the feeling of being Ben's "brother," following the dictum that family doesn't grass its own up. Right up to the time when Ben gave his permission for Jay to tell the truth, Jay was covering for Phil and Ben - because that was the law of Jay's jungle.

As much as Ben, Jay was implicated in this crime and knew that he would stand a chance of a prison sentence if he squealed. He was protecting himself as much as the others. Even now, he doesn't see that he's still dancing to the same tune as the Mitchells because he bent to Ben's will - he confessed when Ben told him to do so. Ben called the shots, and now Jay will pay also. That's why Ben gave that quirky little smile when he was driven away in the police van.

As for Phil, it's an understatement to say Phil Mitchell's not a nice person; however, he's not a murderer. I know that's hard for some people to believe, but he simply isn't.

I recently re-watched the episode about Heather's murder as well as the subsequent one. Phil's first reaction to what Ben did was absolute horror. He was appalled that Ben hadn't even called an ambulance, and the his first reaction was to pull out his mobile and attempt to call the police. That's when Ben started panicking, begging Phil to "make it go away," like a small child who's stubbed his toe and wants Daddy to kiss it better.

Phil was very reluctantly pulled into this cover-up, reminding Ben that, as he was now sixteen, he'd get tried for murder as an adult; but as Ben's father, I think he perversely realised that his other first instinct was to protect his son, especially when Ben started decompensating and wittering about not being able to stand returning to prison. And once he'd determined to effect Ben's cover-up, he was going to see that it was done correctly and everyone played his part. It probably would have been simpler had this only concerned him and Ben, but Jay's presence made a difference as well. Jay was the one who was consistently bothered by this.

And as much as Phil fought to cover up his son's involvement, he was also fighting for his own survival as well.

One other thing ... for those who debate whether or not Heather's killing was an accident and whether Ben should be charged with murder or not - in the episode immediately after the one where he kills her, Ben and Phil are arguing in Heather's flat. Ben's first explanation is the standard "it-was-an-accident" one, but when Phil pressed him about why he was even in the flat and why he'd brained Heather, Ben finally admitted that he wanted to hurt her, because he believed she'd grassed him to the police for lying about Phil's involvement in Stella's death.

Ben said that.

He actually intended to do Heather harm in recompense for his belief that she grassed him to the police. He intended to harm Heather. That is murder.